Save Me – Clout
Save Me – Clout
With all the excitement about Clout’s version of ‘Substitute’ getting to number 2 in the UK (and number 67 in the US), other hits of theirs get a bit relegated. One of their other great hits was ‘Save Me’, a cover of a song originally recorded by Irish singer Clodagh Rodgers. Like ‘Substitute’ (which was the b-side of a Righteous Brothers hit), the first recording of the song did nothing for the artist who first recorded it.
Clout, however, injected some vooma into the song and had it speeding up the local charts and some of the European ones. It peaked at number 8 in SA and made number 6 in Holland, number 4 in Switzerland, 14 in Austria, 4 in Germany and 5 in Belgium. Comparing it to the Clodagh Rodgers version, it’s not too surprising that Clout’s one was the hit. Clodagh does a pleasant enough job of it, but it seems a bit bland in comparison to the dose of ROCK! that Cindy Alter et al brought to the song. To put it in other terms it’s like comparing a Carpenters song to a Suzi Quatro one. You can listen to Clodagh, but you can dance to Clout.
Clout open their version with a strong harmonised voice of “Save Me/Take Me Away To The Moonlight/The people around me don’t feel right” before tumbling into a stomping beat that is reminiscent of Slade (sans the howling of Noddy Holder) with drums a-pounding, guitars a-roaring and Cindy giving a great vocal performance. Perhaps it is time to substitute your favourite Clout track with this for a little while.
Where to find it:
20 Greatest Hits – Clout (1992), Gallo Records, CDCLOUT 1
Video:
Clout:
Clodagh Rodgers:
1001 South African Songs You Must Hear Before You Go Deaf 
They still play this on a couple of German radio stations..